Electrical switching operating device



Aug. 4, 1953 H. T. TORNBERG ELECTRICAL SWITCHING OPERATING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1951 A-IMMS K756466267 INVENTOR.

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Aug. 4, 1953 H. 1-. TORN BERG ELECTRICAL SWITCHING OPERATING DEVICE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001). 6, 1951 flaw/we Z 750 5565 //VVEA/70/P =hasassumed a too low position. switch is manipulated when the positionassumed by-said floating Patented Aug. 4, 1953 ELECTRICAL SWITCHINGOPERATING DEVICE Henning T. Tornberg,

to Modern Plastic M Ridgewood, N. J assignor achinery Corp.,

Lodi, N. J.,

a corporation of Delaware Application October 6, 1951, Serial No.250,048 2 Claims. (Cl. 200-52) The present invention relates to amechanism which may be used in switching structures for the control ofelectric motors driving machines for winding up wire, rope, paper, clothand the upwardly and downwardly below the first mentioned unit; thefilament or web in its travel from feed to wind-up, being supported bythe upper unit and supporting the floating unit. For practical working,the distance between these units should be between prescribed limits.When wind-up is not fast enough in accordance with the feed, thefloating unit will descend because of the increased accumulation of thematerial the said units carry. When the amount of such descent bringsthe floating unit belowthe desired limit for the low position thereof,the motor driving the wind-up means must be speeded up until thedistance between said units shall again be within the prescribed limits.Then again, if the wind-up is too fast in accordance with the feed, thefloating pulley will ascend. When the amount of such ascent brings thefloating unit above the desired limit for high position therefor, thespeed of said motor need be lowered until said floating unit is againwithin said limits.

Various motors are in use on wind-up machinery which include electricalspeed control systems employing a pair of manually operated switches.One such switch is manually held in closed position bythe operator tospeed up the motor when he observes that the "floatin-g unit The otherunit is too high. The switches are in open condition while the floatingunit is between the desired limits. Such motors and their control systemare for instance those known as U. S. varidrive motors, manufactured byU. S. Electrical Motors Inc'., of Milford, Connecticut. An object ofthis invention is to provide a novel and improved mechanism shown usedin an electrical switching structure embodying a pair of switches w-hoseoperation is accomplished automatically and controlled by floating unitmovement; No claim is made herein to the electrical circuits employed,and such circuits being known,

are not shown herein. This invention is only concerned and claims aremade only to a novel and improved mechanism employable for the men-.tioned switching structure. -nism can be used anywhere else where it isde- The novel mechasired to have a shaft revolvable between adjustablelimits by a movable member which has possible movement up and backbetween and beyond other limits. Ani it is such novel mechanism whichthis application seeks protection for, and also for the illustrativestructures herein shown employing such mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel and improved meansto control the movement of a shaft between adjustable limits by areciprocatable body on which no adjustment is made upon any adjustmentof said limits.

A further object hereof is to provide a novel and improved mechanism ofthe character mentioned, which is reasonably cheap to manufacture, andwhen employed in said switching structure, is easy to adapt for presentsystems and which is efficient in carrying out the purposes for which itis designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosureproceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, similarcharacters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an electrical switchingdevice embodying the teachings of this invention, shown mounted on theframework of a wire wind-up machine, and in cludes a shaft carrying apair of mercury switches, a member carried along on the machinesfloating unit, and a wheel whose periphery is adapted to be in contactwith said member during some part of the travel of said floating unit;the mentioned shaft receiving its movement when the said wheel is madeto rotate by said member in motion. This view is partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a partial left side view of Fig. 1,, shown partly in section.This view particularly shows the wheel and its contacting member whichis carried along with the floating unit of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the brackets for holding amercury switch on the mentioned shaft.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic front view of a windup machine shown equippedwith the device i1- lustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic side view of said machine.

Fig. 6 is a modified embodiment of the matter shown in Fig. 2. Here thewheel-contacting memher is itself a wheel of mechanism to be mentioned.It shows the adoption of this invention where a rotatable member isbrought to limits. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, it is areciprocatable slidable member which is brought to limits.

In the drawings, the numeral l5 designates generally a wire-windingmachine receiving wire I 6 from a source onto and about the fixed sheave3 unit l1 and the floating sheave unit Hi; the latter being mounted. toslide along the vertically positioned channels IS. The wire then travelson a swivelled guide pulley 2i], thence to the traverse guide 2!, andfinally onto a wind-up reel 22. A varidrive motor 23- of' the: type hereinbefore mentioned, drives the said reel, and is. provided with itsusual electrical control system (not shown) which heretofore. includedtwo-man.-

shaft 28, and areset in ad ustable angular position with respect to eachother, by means of the set screws 32 and 33 respectively, which securethe brackets to the shaft '28-, after saidbrackets are turned on saidshaft to desired relative position. An adjustablescrew- 34 threadedlymounted on the frame 23-, and a similar screw 35i1ikewise mounted onsaid frame, are respectively positioned so that their ends lie in thepaths of movement of the said brackets respectively, so

as toact as stops therebylimiting the movement of the shaft 23, to afraction of a revolution, which is of course adjustable as is evident.

Itis intended that the shaft 28' shall move upon rotation of the wheel36, but it is preferred that said wheel shall have-a considerablygreater scope a of movement than that of theshaft 28. Hence, there isprovided a suitable reduction drive in the shaft means, as forinstancethe worm 3! on the wheels shaft 38, in engagement with the gearwheel 39on the shaft 28;

The driving member for the wheel 36', comprises the bar 46 which issecurely mounted on the carriage 41 holding the floating pulley: unitl8. Said bar 43 holds another bar 42. in spaced and resiliently mountedrelation. thereon. This is accomplished by means of the compressionsprings 43. between. said bars, held in suitable sockets 4'4 and 45.Headed bolts46 maintain the assembly so that the said springs are inconstantly stressedcondition. These bolts are secured in the bar 42',withtheir. shanks free to, slide in their holes in the bar 4%, and withtheirheads free within the counterbores 4-1. The line of movement of thecarriage 411 being along the vertical, the bars 43' and 42' which are;normally in parallel relation, are mounted lengthwise along thevertical.

The framework 20 which may serve-as a. casing as shown, is fixed to thechannels IS, in such position that theshafts 28 and- 38 are horizontaland so that the periphery of thewheel 35 shall be in contact with thebar 42' and further compress the springs 43' while the bar 42-vpassessaid wheel 35. Also, the shaft 38 shall be at such'position thatthe wheel 38-. shall be in contact with about the mid-point of the bar42 when thefioating pulley unit IS is at its median region of desiredoperating positions.

The length of said bar than. the maximum distance. ever between theextreme desired working scope of movement of the floating pulley unitl8. Since the operational scope of the shaft 23 is less than onerevolution, dimensions of the parts should be so chosen to preferablyeffect a possible one turn of said 42. is somewhat longer to beemployed.

limiting positions for, the

shaft 28 or even less, but to such an extent to exceed the maximumscope. of. movement of said shaft 23' at any time required. Thedimension of the parts should also be chosen so that the said wheel 36shall yet be in contact with the bar 42 after the movement of the shaft28 has come to a halt due to the action of the stops which are thescrews 34 and 35.

important incident of the described structure, is that upon halt of themovement of the shaft 28 by the stop screws 34 or 35, any continued:movement. of the carriage 4|, with the wheel..36 still in contact withthe bar 42, which causes a pressure of the stopped bracket 26 or 2?,against the stop screw such bracket is in contact with, the wheel 35will slip and. remain motionless. Upon continued movement of thecarriage 4! in the same direction it had' moved to bring the shaft 28 toits said stopped. position, the bar 42 will disengage the wheel 351 Dueto the action of the springs 43, the bar 42. will become a littlefurther spaced. from the bar;- 48. Upon movement of the carriage 41' inthem:- posite direction, the bar 42 will again. contact the wheel 36',turn same, and the shaft 28 will move in the direction opposite to thatit had moved before.

The mercur switches 2'4 and 25', by adjustment of the positions oftheirrespective brackets 2G; and 21 on the shaft 28; are in oppositely tiltedpositions of equal angle withhorizontali when the carriage M is atmedian desired. working position along the channels. I13. The wheel 36:is then in contact with mid-point of" the: ban 4-2. Such would be the.setting if the distance between desired working" limits of the.carriage. 411, would equal approximately the.- fulL length. of the bar42. In such: instance, thestopscrews. and 35 are entirely withdrawn sothat they do not interfere with movement of the; shaft 28. However, forall practical purposes, such distance as. mentioned, is less than. said:bar length, and should be adjustable, depending; upon the nature of thematerial being wound; to any-distance; less than said bar length. Hencethe-:needofzthdstqp screws 34 and 35, to. be. adjusted ta properposrtions depending upon. the extent of the distance between the limitsfor; the desired working? positions for the floating pulley unit: 18:.The ex"- tent of the movement of the shaft28 permitted by said stopscrews, is proportional. to the distance between. the limits for thedesired working positions for said floating pulley unit.

It is to be noted that;whenboth-1mercux7 switches 24 and 25 areinpositiorrwhere-they are tilted equallywith horizontal, such. switches".are in off or open? condition. Upmiv movement of the shaft 281 in one;direction. at: this; time, it will cause one of the switches to assume;onf condition. and the other'toremain, inv off, con: dition. It is whenaswitch. assumes horizontal position, that: its mercury. 50: flows and.then makes contact with. the terminals ll, 52; thereby setting theswitch. into on."orclosedfcondition. Each of these switches shown,comprise a glass case 53 housing the mercury and a: pair of endterminals 5| and. 52 having external leadin wires 54, for connection inplace of the-hereinbefore mentioned; manually operated switches in themotor control apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, consider the machine I! to be in operationperforming wind-up on one of the reels 22. The floating pulley unit I8is at aposition within its desired limit positions along the channelsIS. The switches 24 and 28 are both in open condition. The motor 23 isrunning at a normal operating speed. Should it occur that wire I6 isbeing fed faster than it is being wound up, the floating pulley unit |8will begin to descend, causing shaft 28 to move clockwise. If suchdescent continues, mercury switch 24 will close and actuate the controlapparatus of the varidrive motor 23 to cause a speed up of said motor.This in turn will cause the floating pulley unit I 8 to rise andconsequently the switch 24 will shift to be in open" condition again,whereupon the motor speed will again go to normal. Should it occur thatwire I6 is being wound-up faster than it is being fed, the floatingpulley unit |8 will begin to rise, causing shaft 28 to movecounter-clockwise. If such ascent continues, mercury switch 25 willclose and actuate the control apparatus of the varidrive motor 23 tocause a slow down of said motor. This in turn will cause the floatingpulley unit I8 to descend and consequently the switch 25 will shift tobe in open condition again, whereupon the motor speed will again go tonormal. The action to urge the floating pulley unit to positions betweencertain limits along the channels I9, is entirely automatic.

It is to be noted that for an appreciable interval of movement of theshaft 28, both switches 24 and 25 remain in open condition, and thatonly one of said switches can be in closed condition at one time. Changein angular relation of the switches 24 and 25, will change the segmentof movement of the shaft 28 during which the said switches will remainboth in open condition, thus changing the scope of float of the floatingpulley unit I 8, during which the motor speed will remain unchanged.

Of course, the floating pulley unit l8 will move along the channels toan extent that bar 42 will leave the wheel 36. Upon return movement ofsaid pulley unit, said wheel and bar will reengage. The stops 34 and 35will respectively act to halt movement of the shaft 28, while the wheelis still in contact with the bar 42. While said shaft 28 is held againstmovement, further motion on the part of the floating pulley unit, willonly cause said wheel 36 to slip along the bar 42. If said wheel 36 isstill in contact with the bar 42, or again comes into contact therewithupon reverse movement of the floating pulley unit l8, the shaft 28 willimmediately begin to move away from the stop which held it.

To attain any desired scope of float for the floating pulley unit l8,adjustments are made with the screws 24 and 25, and the angular relationof the brackets 26 and 21 is changed. To change the floating regionalong the channels I9, the position of the casing 29 need be altered,higher or lower, as the case demands.

Where instead of the reciprocable carriage 4|, the body to be controlledis as shown in Fig. 6, the shaft revolving in oscillatory manner, anddesired to be kept capable of swing within desired limits, the switchingmeans shown in Fig. 1 may be employed for automatic operation of acontrol circuit for the mover of said shaft, by having a resilientlymounted ring segment 5| in concentric relation about the periphery of awheel 52 on said shaft 50. In this instance, the wheel 36 engages theperiphery of the said ring segment, with like incidents of slippage asexplained for the embodiment of Fig. 1.

The wheel 36, bar 42 and the ring segment 5| may be of wood. The springs43 are chosen of f; a strength to accomplish the required traction andpermit the required slippage.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applicationswithout departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It istherefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein bedeemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall coverall patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to thefollowing claims rather than to the specific description herein toindicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In an electrical switching operating device, the combination of aframe, a shaft means carrying electrical switch components; said shaftmeans including one or more shafts revolvably mounted on the frame andrelated so that upon the rotation of one shaft, all the shafts willrotate, a wheel secured on such one shaft, a member mounted foroscillatory movement on the frame, adapted during movement tofrictionally contact the periphery of the wheel and turn the said wheeland thereby the shaft said wheel is mounted on, adjustable stop means onthe shaft means and the frame, to determine the scope of the movement ofone of the shafts; the periphery of said Wheel and the surface of saidmember which contacts said periphery being of such nature that the saidmember shall slip along the periphery of said wheel without turning saidwheel while in contact therewith, upon continued movement of said memberduring the time when movement of the shaft means is halted by the stopmeans.

2. In an electrical switching operating device, the combination of aframe, a shaft means carrying electrical switch components; said shaftmeans including one or more shafts revolvably mounted on the frame andrelated so that upon the rotation of one shaft, all the shafts willrotate, a wheel secured on one such shaft, a slide slidably mounted onthe frame, a bar positioned lengthwise along the line of movement of theslide and movably carried thereon for lateral movement towards and awayfrom the slide, means holding said bar and slide in assembled relationwhereby the bar moves with the slide, spring means urging the bar awayfrom the slide; said bar being adapted during movement of the slide, tofrictionally contact the periphery of the wheel and turn said wheel andthereby the shaft said wheel is mounted on; said bar being moved towardsthe slide by the wheel upon contact of said bar with the wheel whereuponsaid spring means is stressed, adjustable stop means on the shaft meansand the frame, to determine the scope of the movement of one of theshafts; the periphery of said wheel and the surface of said bar whichcontacts said periphery being of such nature and the spring means beingof such strength that the bar shall slip along the periphery of thewheel without turning said wheel while in contact therewith uponcontinued movement of the slide during the time when movement of theshaft means is halted by the stop means.

HENNIN G T. TORNBERG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,992,649 Brunk Feb. 26, 1935

